Number Of Cases Lowered And Delayed, WHO Believes Monkey Customs Can Be Lost In Europe

JAKARTA - World Health Organization (WHO) officials believe monkeypox can be removed from Europe, reflecting on the decline and slowdown in infection cases in several countries.

There are encouraging signs of a ongoing week-on-week decline in the start of cases in many European countries, including France, Germany, Portugal, Spain, and the UK.

In addition, the slowdown in infection cases also occurred in parts of the United States, although the supply of vaccines was scarce.

"We believe we can eliminate the continued transmission of monkeypox from humans to humans in the region (Europe)," WHO Regional Director for Europe Hans Kluge said.

"To move towards elimination, we need to immediately increase our efforts," he continued.

The launch of the Bavarian Nordic monkeypox vaccine has been influenced by limited injection supply, which was also approved to preventpox, although regulators are taking steps to expand existing stock.

US, European Union and UK regulators have supported changes in how vaccines are administered by injecting a small amount of intradermal injections, up five times the dose that can be used from one bottle.

In addition to the vaccine supply crisis, given the time it takes to deploy the vaccine and for that to apply, the significant factors behind the slowdown appear to be early detection, which causes patients to self-isolate faster, and behavioral changes, Catherine Smallwood, senior emergency officer and manager of the monkeypox incident at WHO/European at a press conference.

"We have some pretty good anecdotal evidence, that people, especially men who have sex with men who are in certain risk groups, know better about this disease," he explained.

More than 47,600 confirmed cases in 90 countries where non-endemic monkeypox has been reported since early May. The WHO declared the outbreak a global health emergency.